Cannabis may help relieve certastin types of chronic pain.
The different types of cannabis plants include the following:
- Cannabis indica
- Cannabis sativa
- hybrids
There
is limited research available on the use of specific cannabis strains
for pain and other symptoms. As a result, strain-specific
recommendations are not medically proven.
The results of an online survey, comprising 95 participants, featured in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2014.
The researchers found that participants preferred indica strains for pain management, sedation, and sleep while they would opt for sativa strains to improve energy and mood.
Regarding pain management, participants reported a statistically significant effect when using indica for:
- non-migraine headaches
- neuropathy
- spasticity
- joint pain
It was small in scale, anonymous, and asked people to self-report on
their symptoms. Respondents did not use the cannabis in a controlled
setting, potentially resulting in differences in drug composition,
dosage, and potency.
Another study examined the use of organically grown sativa and indica strains in the treatment of several medical conditions. Just over half of the participants were using cannabis to treat HIV.
study followed participants for 3 years and asked them about the
effects of the drug on their condition during this time. The results
indicated that indica strains are more likely to improve energy and appetite, while both sativa and indica strains can alleviate nausea to a similar degree.
How does cannabis work for pain?
symptoms. The components of cannabis that most studies focus on for pain
relief are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
THC vs. CBD
This actuates the cerebrum’s award framework and decreases torment levels. THC is a psychoactive compound as it ties to cannabinoid receptors and produces a raised perspective, known as a high.
CBD doesn’t cause a high, despite the fact that it cooperates with torment receptors in the cerebrum to apply torment easing and calming impacts.
A 2015 reviewTrusted Wellspring of exploration on the utilization of pot and cannabinoids for different persistent torment conditions reports that few preliminaries had positive outcomes. The scientists propose that weed or cannabinoids might be compelling for treating a few kinds of ongoing torment including neuropathy (nerve torment).
An exploration paper from 2016 found that weed use for disease torment prompted a 64-percent decrease in narcotic use, worked on personal satisfaction, and caused less drug secondary effects. It additionally prompted members utilizing less prescriptions.
More modest examinations have revealed benefits for different sorts of ongoing torment. For instance:
Of around 17,000 individuals with disease, 70% apparently encountered an improvement in agony and general prosperity after weed use.
Individuals with persistent headaches experiencedTrusted Source a decline in headache episodes subsequent to utilizing the medication.
Be that as it may, there is as yet a requirement for more investigation into the area of pot use for persistent torment, particularly into the utilization of various strains, measurements, and strategies for conveyance.
An Australian studyTrusted Source, distributed in July 2018, reasoned that weed use didn’t diminish the side effects of agony or the need to utilize narcotic meds. Be that as it may, the discoveries were for the most part founded on reports from individuals who utilized the medication casually.
Utilizing weed explicitly for restorative purposes could yield various outcomes.
Synthetic and medicinal cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the whole, unprocessed plant or its extracts.
Medical cannabis only has approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Trusted Source as a safe or effective treatment for two conditions. These are rare and severe forms of epilepsy that involve seizures that other drugs have not been able to control.
The name of the drug is Epidiolex. It contains a purified form of CBD, and the FDA gave approval in June 2018.
The
FDA have also approved medications containing synthetic THC
cannabinoids called dronabinol (Marinol) and nabilone (Cesamet). These
drugs reduce nausea in people undergoing cancer treatments and increase
appetite in people living with HIV.
The FDA have not yet approved the use of any cannabis drugs for pain relief.
Synthetic cannabis is also the name given to drugs such as K2 or Spice. The National institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)Trusted Source
point out that these are not cannabis, they are not safe, and they are
not recommended for any purpose. The adverse effects of these drugs can
be fatal.
Synthetic cannabis attempts to duplicate the effects of
the ingredients in the plant. There is theory that the entire plant has a
more profound effect with the different ingredients working together to
have an entourage effect.
Risks and side effects
Marijuana use can cause a few incidental effects, including:
- reliance
- breathing issues
- dazedness
- habit, which happens in 9% of individuals who start use in adulthood
- debilitated response times
- collaborations with medicine
- loss of focus
- memory issues
- emotional well-being issues in those inclined toward them
- quick pulse
- withdrawal side effects
Skin medicines
Edibles
Weed versus narcotics for relief from discomfor
